Barefoot Bloggers: Crème Brulee

The first Barefoot Blogger recipe for November is a fun one - Crème Brulee. I think Crème Brulee was probably the first real fancy dessert that we had after we were married. We liked it enough that my wife and I went to a community education class that taught how to make a dinner that had Crème Brulee as the dessert. We have tried to make it a few times with varying levels of success so I was excited to get the chance to try it out again.

This recipe was easier than the recipe I have done before. There is really no cooking on the stove other than scalding the milk (and you can do that in the microwave if you want to cheat.). This recipe uses a little liqueur so I will now be a little closer to making that Grand Marnier purchase worth it - it is expensive but it can be used in a lot of recipes. The recipe says to use a cooking torch but don't go purchase one just for this if you have one in the workshop - a normal propane torch works great.

The recipe was easier but I think it was just as good. I do think I like a little more vanilla flavor so I might use a vanilla bean like my other recipe next time - just cook the vanilla bean with the milk and scrape the insides into the milk when done. The liqueur taste was very mild and I only noticed it on the first bite or two. The only other change I might make to the recipe is to strain the custard before you put it into the ramekins. Sometimes, no matter how careful you are when you pour the milk into the egg, the egg will cook a little. I only noticed this in the last dish I poured that there was a little cooked egg to mess up the smooth texture a little and straining would have prevented. I made the full recipe since I like this so much. It does keep pretty well and they are just as good a few days later.

Thanks to Suzie at Munch and Nibble for this months recipe. Go to her blog and check out her very cool Halloween cake.

Crème Brulee

(Source: Barefoot in Paris, page 222)

Makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 extra-large egg
• 4 extra-large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.
3. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.
4. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.